Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

UNRWA: Finance

Dan Carden: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what his timescale is for reviewing the decision to suspend funding to the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).

Mr Andrew Mitchell: We are appalled by allegations that UNRWA staff were involved in the 7 October attack against Israel, a heinous act of terrorism that the UK Government has repeatedly condemned. We are pausing any future funding of UNRWA whilst we review these concerning allegations.The United States, Germany, Australia, Italy, Canada, Finland, Switzerland and the Netherlands have all temporarily paused funding.The pause will remain in place until we review the allegations, and we are looking to our partners in the UN to carry out a robust and comprehensive investigation.Any future funding decisions will be taken after this point.Our decision to pause future funding to UNRWA has no impact on the UK's contribution to the humanitarian response. We are getting on with aid delivery through funding multiple implementing partners including other UN agencies and international and UK NGOs. This support is helping people in Gaza get food, water, shelter and medicines.

Israel: Palestinians

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether his Department is taking steps to help plan a negotiated settlement on (a) a two-state solution and (b) recognition of a Palestinian state.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: We support a two-state solution that guarantees security and stability for both the Israeli and Palestinian people. We must give the people of the West Bank and Gaza the political perspective of a credible route to a Palestinian state and a new future. And it needs to be irreversible. This is not entirely in our gift. But we and our partners can help by confirming our commitment and vision. Crucially, we must state our clear intention to grant recognition, including at the United Nations. That can't come at the start of the process. But it doesn't have to be the very end of the process.The Palestinian Authority (PA) has an important long-term role to play. We already provide technical and practical support to the PA, and will work with our allies to continue this, and do more. But the Palestinian Authority also must take much needed steps on reform, including setting out a pathway to democratic progress. And just as the PA must act, so must Israel, which means releasing frozen funds, halting settlement expansion and holding to account those responsible for extremist settler violence.

Department of Health and Social Care

Palliative Care: Children

Fleur Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent steps her Department has taken to improve (a) services for children who require end of life care, (b) services for children with life threatening conditions and (c) services for children with life limiting conditions.

Helen Whately: Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for determining the level of National Health Service funded palliative and end of life care for children locally, and they are responsible for ensuring that the services they commission meet the needs of their local population.At a national level, in line with the NHS Long Term Plan, NHS England has provided approximately £12 million of match-funding to participating ICBs, and formerly CCGs, between 2020/21 and 2023/24. This was committed to invest in children and young people’s palliative and end of life care, giving a total investment of £24 million. In addition, NHS England supports palliative and end of life care for children and young people through the Children and Young People’s Hospice Grant. NHS England has confirmed that it will be renewing the funding for 2024/25, once again allocating £25 million of funding for children’s hospices using the same prevalence-based allocation approach as in 2022/23 and 2023/24. This prevalence-based approach ensures funding matches local need.The Department is in ongoing discussions with NHS England to explore improving oversight and accountability of all-age NHS palliative and end of life care commissioning. Additionally, The Department, through the National Institute for Health and Care Research, is investing £3 million in a new Palliative and End of Life Care Policy Research Unit. This will help build the evidence base on all-age palliative and end of life care to inform policy making in this vital area.NHS England’s palliative and end of life care team has recently engaged with 24 ICBs to understand how to better support commissioners, and has also reviewed all 42 ICB Joint Forward Plans for their inclusion of palliative and end of life care.From April 2024, NHS England will include palliative and end of life care in the list of topics for regular performance discussions between national and regional leads. Additionally, NHS England has commissioned the development of a palliative and end of life care dashboard, which brings together all relevant data in one place. The dashboard helps commissioners understand the palliative and end of life care needs of their local population, including children, enabling ICBs to put plans in place to address and track the improvement of health inequalities.

Social Services

Richard Foord: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking with local authorities to increase levels of social care provision.

Helen Whately: Local authorities are tasked with the duty to shape their care market and deliver a range of care and support services to meet the diverse needs of local people. To support with this, the Government has made a total of nearly £2 billion available to local authorities over two years through the Market Sustainability and Improvement Fund (MSIF) and MSIF Workforce Fund. Both are designed to support increased adult social care capacity, and support local authorities to make improvements to adult social care services.

Care Homes: Dementia and Learning Disability

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to help care homes to improve the support they provide to people with (a) learning difficulties and (b) dementia.

Helen Whately: From July 2022, under the Health and Care Act 2022, Care Quality Commission registered health and care providers are required to ensure that staff receive training on learning disability and autism appropriate to their role. This will help to ensure that staff have the right knowledge and skills to provide safe and compassionate care for people with a learning disability.We are taking steps to help care homes improve the support they provide through the Care Workforce Pathway that sets clear expectations about training at different stages of a career. This includes learning disability and dementia as specific areas of practice. We are also introducing a new Level 2 Adult Social Care Certificate available to the sector with content that has been underpinned by the Dementia Training Standards and the Core Capabilities Framework on learning disability.

Continuing Care: Finance

Munira Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, at what point in the provision of a person’s social care needs is the limit of local authority responsibility reached and the responsibility for funding that care transferred to NHS Continuing Healthcare.

Helen Whately: NHS Continuing Healthcare (CHC) is a package of ongoing care that is arranged and funded solely by the National Health Service, where the individual has been found to have a primary health need.An individual has a primary health need if the main aspects or majority part of the required care is focused on addressing or preventing health needs. The National Health Service Commissioning Board and Clinical Commissioning Groups (Responsibilities and Standing Rules) Regulations 2012 set out the process for determining eligibility for CHC.Establishing whether an individual has a primary health need requires a clear, reasoned decision, based on evidence of needs from a range of comprehensive assessments undertaken by a multidisciplinary team.

NHS Supply Chain: Staff

Mr Mark Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the total salary cost was of NHS Supply Chain employees in the 2022-23 financial year.

Mr Mark Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many full-time staff were employed by NHS Supply Chain in the (a) 2020-21, (b) 2021-22 and (c) 2022-23 financial year.

Mr Mark Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many (a) full and (b) part time NHS Supply Chain employees were of what (i) grade and (ii) salary band in the last financial year.

Andrew Stephenson: NHS Supply Chain is managed by Supply Chain Coordination Limited (SCCL) and was established in 2018 under the Department of Health and Social Care Procurement Transformation Programme. NHS Supply Chain includes both employees of SCCL and services providers including those undertaking Procurement Services, Logistics Services and IT Services. For the purposes of this response we have included SCCL employees rather than those of the wider supply chain.The basic salary costs for the financial year 2022/23 for SCCL employees was £25,643,751.68. The headcount for the years 2020/21 to 2022/23 is as follows:- 2020/21: 394;- 2021/22: 449; and- 2022/23: 682 During the period from 2021 to 2024, several organisational changes led to subsequent changes in responsibility within NHS Supply Chain and growth in those employed directly by SCCL. The increase in headcount in 2022/23 is due to the transfer of colleagues from former services providers of procurement services. These were phased across the financial year, in July, October and February, and therefore the reported total headcount for 2022/23 relates to the outturn number of staff. Previous increases were due to the replacement of day rate contractors with full time employees and investment in roles to strengthen the resilience of the supply chain, in response to the findings of the Boardman Review. SCCL staff are not part of Agenda for Change and, as such, our grading does not match those in other parts of the National Health Service. The following table shows the employees of SCCL in 2022/23, of which 645 were full time and 37 were part time, broken down by salary band:Salary bandNumber of employees£0.00 - £25,00038£25,001 - £50,000362£50,001 - £75,000180£75,001 - £100,00043£100,001 - £125,00018£125,001 - £150,0006£150,001 - £175,0001£175,001 - £200,0002 As of March 2023, prior to the transfer of procurement teams into SCCL, the total headcount in SCCL plus external procurement service providers was 1272. As of the end of March 2024 this will be 1149 on a like for like basis.

Hospital Wards: Gender

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many single sex ward breaches there have been in the NHS in England in each of the last 10 years.

Maria Caulfield: The following link shows the Mixed-Sex Accommodation, the total occurrences of unjustified mixing in relation to sleeping accommodation in each of the last 10 years in the National Health Service in England.https://view.officeapps.live.com/op/view.aspx?src=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.england.nhs.uk%2Fstatistics%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fsites%2F2%2F2024%2F02%2FMSA-Time-Series-December-2023-05148.xlsx&wdOrigin=BROWSELINK

Radiology: Telemedicine

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the cost to the public purse was of outsourcing radiology scans to external teleradiology companies in each of the last five years.

Andrew Stephenson: From the years 2018/19 to 2022/23, the National Health Service spent £1,096,083,822 on outsourcing radiology scans. Over this five-year period, 18 million outsourced radiology scans were provided, representing 7.9% of the total cost of all imaging services during this time.The outsourcing of teleradiology scans by the NHS is used to help deliver targets on diagnostic waiting times and activity, including the diagnosis of illnesses such as cancer. Outsourcing allows the NHS to maintain important diagnostic activity whilst the Government continues to invest into building up diagnostic capacity, including through an increased number of community diagnostic centres. The following table shows the cost of outsourcing radiology scans to external teleradiology companies each year from 2018/19 to 2022/23 and in total, as well as the number of activities outsourced: Financial yearTotal Cost of OutsourcingTotal Activity Outsourced2022-23£368,858,8383,742,3962021-22£241,015,5743,465,1082020-21£170,131,1152,498,0082019-20£192,261,0284,531,3982018-19£123,817,2673,940,574Total£1,096,083,82218,177,484

Knee Replacements: Out-patients

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many and what proportion of knee replacement operations do not require an overnight stay in hospital.

Andrew Stephenson: For the year 2022/23, based on the latest data available from Hospital Episode Statistics, there were 87,584 finished consultant episodes (FCEs) and 11 attended outpatient appointments, with a knee replacement as the main procedure. Of the FCEs, 969 were day cases, where the patient was discharged from hospital on the same day that they were admitted. Day cases and attended outpatient appointments, which did not require an overnight stay in hospital, represented 1.1% of knee replacement operations.

NHS: Software

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many full-time equivalent staff have worked on (a) developing and (b) maintaining the My Planned Care platform since 2022-23.

Andrew Stephenson: My Planned Care was developed in 2021 and launched in February 2022. It is hosted by an NHS Commissioning Support Unit of behalf of NHS England.My Planned Care waiting times are updated weekly, primarily through automated data management systems with minimal human resources. NHS England maintain the content as updated by each provider, which is part of a wider programme of work. It is estimated that between the waiting time weekly updates and the content maintenance, the resources utilised are less than 0.1 full-time equivalent per week.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Inland Border Facilities: Ashford

Emma Hardy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the cost is of (a) purchase of and (b) construction works on Sevington Internal Border Facility.

Mark Spencer: The £366 million figure referred to in the National Audit Office report covered a specific set of activities within Defra’s overall 2021 Spending Review digital investment. At least £149.3 million has been spent on these activities as of 31 December 2023, alongside other digital investment.

Dangerous Dogs: Registration

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will publish guidance for owners of XL Bully dogs who were unable to register their dogs by the deadline.

Mark Spencer: Applications for a Certificate of Exemption to keep an XL Bully dog opened on the 14 November and closed at midday on 31 January. This date was set out in legislation and gave owners over two months to apply. It is now against the law to keep an XL Bully dog without a valid Certificate of Exemption, and new exemptions can only be authorised by a court order. If owners think they have an XL Bully dog and do not have a Certificate of Exemption, we advise that they should contact their local police force. We have published this guidance on GOV.UK.

Electronic Training Aids

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what research he has (a) commissioned and (b) published on the use of electronic training collars since 2018.

Mark Spencer: Defra has not commissioned or published new research on this matter since 2018. The decision to ban electronic shock collars was reached after considering a broad range of factors. This includes academic research – including Defra-commissioned research (AW1402 and AW1402a), published in 2011. We also note the findings of the Scottish Animal Welfare Commission, published in April 2023, which recommended banning the devices on welfare grounds.

Electronic Training Aids

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions he has had with international counterparts on the banning of electronic training collars.

Mark Spencer: Discussions on banning the use of electronic collars training collars have taken place with international counterparts at an official level.

Primates: Animal Welfare

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department plans to take to support local councils to implement the Animal Welfare (Primate Licences) (England) Regulations 2023.

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has made an estimate of the additional workload that implementation of the Animal Welfare (Primate Licences) (England) Regulations 2023 will require of local councils.

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has made a comparative assessment of the (a) revenue that will be collected from licence fees and (b) costs incurred by local authorities arising from the implementation of the Animal Welfare (Primate Licences) (England) Regulations 2023.

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will consult (a) independent primate experts and (b) animal welfare NGOs as part of the development of guidance to accompany the Animal Welfare (Primate Licences) (England) Regulations 2023; and when he plans to publish that guidance.

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what qualifications are required for (a) veterinarians and (b) other individuals to perform inspections under the Animal Welfare (Primate Licences) (England) Regulations 2023.

Mark Spencer: The Government will engage with relevant stakeholders to develop guidance to accompany the standards. This guidance will be provided to local authorities on how licence holders can demonstrate compliance with these standards and to supply additional information around conducting inspections. Local authorities will be able to set and charge fees in respect of any application and inspection relating to a private primate keeper licence. These fees will enable local authorities to recover any costs they incur as a result of carrying out these activities and should not therefore present any additional financial burden on local authorities. We will be working with local authorities and other relevant stakeholders during the implementation phase to understand how to effectively support them to meet potential future demand for their services.

Primates: Pets

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, on what evidential basis the decision not pursue a ban on the keeping of primates was made.

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, for what reason he plans to restrict the keeping of primates as pets through the draft Animal Welfare (Primate Licences) (England) Regulations 2023 rather than through primary legislation.

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, for what reasons provisions to allow breeding are included in the Animal Welfare (Primate Licences) (England) Regulations 2023.

Mark Spencer: The Government opted to prioritise primate welfare by using secondary legislation. This approach means that these regulations will be in place earlier than would have been possible under primary legislation. Over 98% of respondents to our 2020 consultation and 97% of respondents to our 2023 consultation expressed support for the introduction of a new prohibition on keeping primates privately in England without a relevant licence. The regulations ban the keeping of primates without a relevant licence, ensuring that only those keeping primates to the highest welfare standards can do so. We have thoroughly considered our 2019 call for evidence, consultations and wider stakeholder engagement to ensure the introduction of robust and proportionate measures. This includes activities on breeding, where primate keepers will be required to meet minimum welfare and licencing standards and subject to veterinary control and oversight.

Draft Animal Welfare (Primate Licences) (England) Regulations 2023

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will publish an impact assessment for the draft Animal Welfare (Primate Licences) (England) Regulations 2023.

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the Animal Welfare (Primate Licences) (England) Regulations 2023 on primates kept by owners who are unable to meet licensing requirements under the new regulations.

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department plans to take to support (a) animal rescue centres and (b) sanctuaries that receive surrendered primates following the implementation of the Animal Welfare (Primate Licences) (England) Regulations 2023.

Mark Spencer: The Regulations include a two-year implementation period to provide sufficient time for existing keepers to make necessary changes to comply with the new regulations or to find a suitable alternative home for their primate. These measures do not meet the threshold for a formal impact assessment and no significant costs on the public sector or businesses have been identified. We will be working with local authorities and the sectors to identify suitable rehoming facilities for primates and determine how they can be supported effectively to meet potential future demand for their services.